Baby animals should be romping around in the fields thanks to the watchful eye of their mother. They should not be worried about anything, but in reality, a baby rhino must worry that its mother may be killed just for its valuable horn. The same can occur to an elephant for its tusk. According Paul Guernsey, with All About Wildlife, there are more than five thousand species on the endangered animal list, “an upsurge in poaching in recent years has placed many species in renewed jeopardy.” Ten thousands of animals are killed by poachers. Some may wonder; is there a way to poach the poachers?

Rhinoceroses are targeted because of the value of their horns. People in less developed countries are supportive of poaching because it’s a source of income for an entire village. According to The Reserve’s Rhino Poaching Project’s contributor, Morgan Clendaniel, “the price of powdered rhino horn has soared to rival gold at $1,400 per ounce.” Some cultures believe the powder of the horn can cure some sicknesses. The only way to completely prevent poaching these animals is by degrading the value of the horn. Such actions have already been put to the test. According to Morgan Clendaniel, who belongs to The Reserve’s Rhino Poaching Project, first they inject the horn with brightly colored dye, and then insert a GSP to track the horn. “Finally, they add a non-lethal poison, a common veterinary anti-tick medicine that causes nausea and convulsions in humans but is harmless for treated rhinos.” This would deter anyone from wanting to grind the horns, and thus produces no reason to kill the rhinoceroses. As with any product it becomes more valuable when there is short supply of it, which is what we see when an animal becomes endangered; however, when the product is ruined or devalued, supply increases because demand decreases.

An elephant may be killed for its ivory tusks, or simply killed because it destroyed someone’s crop. According to Sean McLachlan, a biologist, “Ivory sells for about $40 a kilo in Chad, a country where the average annual income is $530. In other words, one good tusk is worth a year's wages.” Elephant tusks can be a reliable source of income and a reason why someone would fight for poaching. Again, a solution would be to decrease the value of the tusk. Another way to attack the problem is to educate people about elephants. According to Will Travers on the Born Free Foundation “A survey in China found that almost seventy percent of the public thought ivory did not come from dead elephants but that it feel out naturally, like teeth.” However, ivory does not fall out like teeth, it comes from dead elephants. If the public knew the truth about the production of ivory, they may become more sensitive about the selling and trading of ivory.

To further educate farmers, we must teach them how to keep the elephants out of the crops instead of killing them because they are damaging the crops. According to Stephanie Vergniault, the founder and executive director of SOS Elephants, they are “training farmers to use non-harmful red pepper as a deterrent rather than injuring or killing elephants.” The farmers can plant red peppers around their crops, like a buffer; elephants will not eat red peppers. If they go too close to the peppers, it will irritate their nose and eyes. They dislike the smell and when they come into contact with the pepper they will leave the area. Also, the farmers can burn the red pepper and the smoke has the same effect on the elephant’s eyes and nose. By devaluing the tusks and educating the public, the number of elephants poached each year will decrease.


A solution that people can do to help is to donate. By donating you can help with the purchase of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UVAs) are being considered to help stop poaching of many animals in Africa. According to Damien Mander, the CEO and founder of the International Anti-Poaching Foundation, “UAVs provide a broad-reaching, safer and more cost-effective solution, allowing rangers to monitor a much greater mass of land whilst reducing their own exposure to dangerous and armed poachers.” The UAVs fly all night, watching borders and animal herds without tiring. The drones are equipped with video cameras and other technology to stream live video through the computer and alert the rangers of any suspicious activity. People can help the cause by donating to the International Anti-Poaching Foundation to help with the purchasing of the aircraft. They need two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to implement the program, which may seem like a great amount for one person, however; if everybody just contributes a little the goal is attainable.

According to a survey taken from my peers at Woodland Park High School, sixty-seven percent of students believe poaching is an extremely prevalent problem. Many people realize there is a problem with poaching, but don't think there is anything they can do to help without donating money. To help stop the poaching of animals without having to spend any money, you can go to www.bloodivory.org to sign an online petition. This petition will help protect animals and stop the trade of ivory. There are also similar petitions for other kinds of animals. Seventy-eight percent of my peers who were surveyed at Woodland Park High School said they would be willing to sign a petition while twenty-two percent of them said they “might” sign the petition. People are willing to help, but we just have to spread the word. This may not completely stop animal poaching, but can be a simple and quick way to help decrease animal poaching.

You may think: all the proposals sound like decent ideas, but will they work? Many of these solutions have already been put in place. According to Morgan Clendaniel with The Reserve’s Rhino Poaching Project, “Not a single treated animal has been poached since administration of the treatment.” This statement is referring to the injection of dye and GPS into the rhino horn. The public now knows the horn is worthless when treated. Online petition sites are reaching their ideal number of signatures to help keep laws in place about poaching, trading, and selling parts of animals. With both the drone and education programs the programs are too recent for any statistical results, but both show great promise. These solutions are not merely a dream, but are becoming a reality.

Animal poaching is a “real” problem through-out the world, and there are some “real” solutions. The first step is to recognize there is a problem, the next step is to educate the public, and finally implement deterrents. There are many ways for people to become involved. Will you let the animal massacres continue, or stop the madness? Will you take five minutes out of your day to sign a petition, or are you able to donate for the purchase of drones? Most people are extremely busy with their own lives, but these solutions are simple and painless. With so little effort the public can save these endangered species for future generations, what will you do?